Atty. Edgardo Carlo Vistan II has been chosen to take the helm of the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman as its 12th Chancellor.
Voting 7-4, the UP Board of Regents (BOR), in its 1,379th meeting on Holy Monday, April 3, chose Vistan over immediate past Chancellor Fidel Nemenzo and UP School of Archaeology Professor Victor Paz.
Vistan currently serves as the Dean of the UP College of Law and Executive Director of the UP Bonifacio Global City campus in Taguig City. Aside from those, he is also Director of the UP Law Center and the UP Office of Legal Aid.
In an earlier interview with DZUP Balita, Vistan shared his preparations days before the selection on Holy Monday. “Malalim na pag-iisip… Sa totoo lang: hindi naman ito masyadong malayo sa pinaghandaan natin, mga sinumite natin sa mga tanong, sa mga fora, at sa mga interviews.”
The newly appointed Chancellor of UP Diliman aims to foster a comprehensive development of individuals and communities by providing high-quality and accessible education, conducting research that is relevant and impactful, and promoting meaningful engagement with other stakeholders.
Through this holistic approach, Vistan envisions a UP Diliman that empowers its students and faculty to contribute positively to society and to address the challenges of the time.
“We want UP Diliman to be an academic institution that leads in the holistic formation of individuals and communities through quality and accessible education, relevant in research and engagement with others. We want our University to be the first choice of our prospective students—their best of options—even as against foreign universities,” Vistan said.
“We want UP Diliman to lead in scholarship, pedagogy, training, research, the arts, music, and athletics, and all that we are engaged in… We must be a leading University that also leads in helping other academic institutions improve their capacities,” he added.
Engagement, Vistan said, will be “the guiding vision, underlying theme, and driving force” of his Chancellorship.
“Engagement will be our operational mantra. To be more precise, it should be active and meaningful engagement wherein we collaborate with others so that all those involved achieve their respective goals,” he said.